KARACHI: Shopkeepers and traders of Karachi are said to be investing over Rs90 billion while those in Lahore are expected to put half of that amount for stocking shops for customers at Eidul Fitr.

These products include readymade garments, embroider suits, hosiery, bangles, cosmetics, ladies purses, mehndi (henna), curtains, carpets, furniture, cutlery items, shoes, toys, artificial jewellery, children bicycles, etc.

Traders of Karachi and Lahore expect cumulative Eid sales of more than Rs70bn and Rs35bn, respectively.

The share of shopping related to children is estimated at 70-80 per cent of the total shopping. However, a sharp contrast exists between the spending patterns of various income groups. While poor spend Rs1,000-2,000 per person, the elite splash out at least Rs40,000-50,000 per head on Eid shopping.

All-Karachi Tajir Ittehad President Atiq Mir estimated Eid-related sales at Rs280bn across the country, assuming that 30pc of the 200 million Pakistanis did not have purchasing power to do any shopping while the remaining 70pc spend Rs2,000 per person on an average.

He said most shopping centres in Karachi, including those in Clifton, Defence Housing Authority, Tariq Road, and Allah Wala Market, Jama Cloth, Jubilee, have started opening after Iftar. Though there are more window shoppers than buyers at present, he hoped the volume of shoppers would increase from the 11th of Ramazan. Sales will peak from June 1 onwards when many working class people would have their salaries in hand.

He said sales in Karachi are likely to improve in particular keeping in view rising population, better law and order and sharp decline in extortion.

To cater for the demand for marriage-related clothes and other items, traders have invested Rs25-30bn in procuring different items from up-country, Mr Mir said.

However, pre-Ramazan shopping remained far below traders’ expectations this year.

ONLINE SHOPPING: Shopping through computers and smartphones is also on the rise. Online marketplace Kaymu.pk said in a report that almost half of the orders were now coming from tier-2 and tier-3 cities like Turbat, Lakki Marwat, Chiniot, Rohri and Panno Aqil. Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi make up around 46pc of the total orders.

Additionally, almost 60pc of Kaymu.pk users use the its app or mobile web as opposed to only around 40pc using the desktop version. In 2015, mobile device was only responsible for almost 18pc of the website’s entire traffic. App downloads for Kaymu.pk now stood at around 1 million, it said.

The top selling categories included fashion, health and beauty items, and electronics and mobile phones, Kaymu.pk said.

Another mobile application ‘GrocerApp’ has recently begun its operations to offer more than 10,000 different products across categories like staples, fresh foodstuff, dairy items, household consumables, baby items, toiletries and much more. The app claims it was Pakistan’s only online grocery store based on dedicated mobile apps for both Android and iOS operating systems.

The app helps buyers do grocery shopping on daily, weekly or monthly bases. “The goods are promptly delivered at doorstep, and GrocerApp ensures the most competitive pricing of every product it sells,” it said is a statement.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2016